Roman soldiers were not allowed to get married |
Army |
The word "decimate" comes from a punishment for Roman soldiers |
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Roman soldiers served for 25 years before they could retire |
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Roman soldiers wore leather, scale and chain armour |
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Gladioli and gladiators are named after the "gladius", a type of sword |
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The first emperor was Augustus, adopted son of Julius Caesar |
Emperors |
The emperor Hadrian spent more time travelling than he did in Rome |
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The Praetorian Guard were elite soldiers who served the emperors |
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Emperor Nero murdered his brother, wife, mother and lover |
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As well as emperor, Marcus Aurelius was also a philosopher |
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Rome was supposedly founded by the twins Romulus and Remus |
Legends |
Romans claimed descent from Trojan hero Aeneas |
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Bees owe their sting to Jupiter. It is a curse as well as a gift |
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Lucretia was a legendary heroine who founded the Roman Republic |
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Cloelia was a legendary woman who led captive women to freedom |
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Before it became a republic or an empire Rome was ruled by 7 kings |
Kings |
Numa Pompilius was Rome's second king and a peaceful man |
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Tullus Hostilius was allegedly killed by Jupiter with a lightning bolt! |
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Lucius Tarquinius Priscus was Rome's first Etruscan king |
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Tarquinius Superbus was the last Roman king. He was a tyrant |
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From 264 to 146 BCE Rome fought the Punic Wars against Carthage |
Wars |
The Battle of Cynoscephalae in 197 BCE saw Rome defeat Macedonia |
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The Gladiator War was fought against slaves led by Spartacus |
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The Great Roman Civil War brought Julius Caesar to power in 45 BCE |
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The Romans were a force to be feared but they did not always win |
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The Romans had 12 major gods: Dei Consentes |
Gods |
The Romans adopted some gods from cultures they conquered |
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15 emperors and their wives were regarded as gods |
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As well as the 12 main gods Romans worshipped hundreds of others |
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3 gods were particularly important: Jupiter, Juno and Minerva |
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Christianity was founded in the Roman Empire |
Christianity |
Christians were tolerated until Emperor Nero's time |
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Despite the persecutions, Christianity's popularity grew |
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By the 4th Century there were 6 million Christians in the Roman Empire |
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Constantine was the first Christian Emperor of Rome |
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The most popular sport in Rome was chariot racing |
Games |
Gladiators fought criminals, animals and each other to the death |
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400,000 people and over a million animals were killed at the Colosseum |
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The Romans also played board games, like "Latrunculi" |
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And sports, such as wrestling, swimming, racing or boxing |
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The most famous Roman invention is probably their numerals |
Inventions |
They also had covered sewers, 2,400 years before London |
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Another invention was underfloor central heating |
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This one might surprise you: the Romans invented concrete |
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Romans did not invent roads but the ones they made are still here |
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Gaius Julius Caesar was born in the year 100 BCE |
Caesar |
He owed his popularity to the conquest of Gaul |
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Caesar started civil war by crossing the Rubicon River |
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He invented the Julian Calendar on which our modern one is based |
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He was murdered on the Ides of March 44 BCE by multiple stab wounds |
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